The Life of Our Lord

5W Charles Dickens. London: Associated Newspapers, 1934. First UK Edition

Notes

The Life of Our Lord is a short, gentle retelling of the story of Jesus Christ that Charles Dickens wrote privately for his children between 1846 and 1849. He never intended it for publication during his lifetime, asking his family to keep it strictly for the children’s instruction. Written in plain, accessible language, the book summarizes the key events of the New Testament—Jesus’s birth, teachings, miracles, compassion for the poor, crucifixion, and resurrection—while emphasizing kindness, charity, forgiveness, and love as essential Christian virtues. Unlike Dickens’s more dramatic literary works, this piece is intimate and direct, reflecting a father’s desire to teach moral values rather than showcase literary style. It remained unpublished until 1934, long after his death, when his family finally allowed it to be shared with the world.

Description

Full blue calf leather with gilt lettering to front cover and spine. Marbles endpapers, top edge gilt. Frontispiece and eleven other plates with engraved initial letters. Minor scuffing to leather. Ink inscription to first free endpaper Easter 1936.